Buried deep beneath Gotham City there exists another Gotham. This Gotham Below is a living nightmare, populated by twisted mirrors of our Gotham’s denizens, fueled by the fear and hatred flowing down from above. For decades, the doorway between the cities has been sealed and heavily guarded by the Court of Owls. But now the door swings wide, and the twisted version of the Dark Knight has escaped…to trap and train a Robin of his own. Batman must form an uneasy alliance with the Court and its deadly allies to stop him-and to hold back the wave of twisted super-villains, nightmarish versions of his own nemeses, each one worse than the last, that’s spilling into his streets! Batman: City of Madness #1 unleashes a new nightmare on Gotham in a comic that delivers haunting visuals to match its ethereal storytelling.
Batman: City of Madness #1 is a solid debut showing off Christian Ward‘s strengths as a writer and artist. A DC Black Label release, it features a story that feels like it’s outside of Batman’s continuity but at the same time could completely fit in. Split into three focused plots, everything flows one into another with dialogue and storytelling that has a dreamlike quality about it. Really nightmare quality. That matches Ward’s artistic style which here looks like a beautiful dream that edges on turning into scares.
Batman is being warned about something coming as he’s sucked into the latest mystery that whispers to him and Harvey Dent from beyond. The Court of Owls is dealing with divisions within its own ranks as they must deal with a creature that may or may not exist from beyond. Then, there’s a young boy dealing with the violence of Gotham as he seeks his own revenge. All three stories begin to come together in the end for that feels like it might be a modern classic Batman miniseries in the making.
Ward’s art is of course beautiful. Like the writing itself, there’s an ethereal style to it that’s almost poetic and would fit right in with a story in the Sandman Universe. It’s hauntingly beautiful and borders on dream and nightmare. The art being so good isn’t a surprise at all.
Batman: City of Madness #1 is good. It’s really good. There’s so much going for it from the story, to the dialogue, and then how the art brings it all together. It’s the perfect Batman story for the spooky season and one to absolutely pick up for fans of Batman or horror.
Story: Christian Ward Art: Christian Ward Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Story: 8.75 Art: 8.75 Overall: 8.75 Recommendation: Buy
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle
Source: Graphic Policy
